Watch-winding indicator.



PATENTED MAY 23, 1905.

J. MAZER.

WATCH WINDING INDICATOR APPLICATION FILED 66.13, 1904 FIG. 3 29 so 2728 /7 INVENTOR.

f Iii fit @45 WITNESSES; 4

WW 5 v p,

UNITED STATES Patented May 23, 1905.

PATENT OEEIcE.

WATCH-WINDING INDICATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 790,508, dated May 23, 1905.

Application filed August 13, 1904. Serial No. 220,626.

To aZZ whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH MAZER, a resident of South lWIcAlester, Indian Territory, have invented a new and useful Improvement in VVatch-IVinding Indicators; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

My invention relates to an attachment for watches, clocks, and the like which is designed to indicate the extent to which the mainspring is wound, so that the observer may know not only when the spring is fully wound or when it has run down, but also the extent to which it is wound at any particular moment, and the time when it will require rewinding.

In fusee or English-lever watches the winding-arbor turns one way when the watch is being wound and the opposite way when the watch is running, so that it is a simple matter to apply a winding-indicator thereto, it only being necessary to provide a train leading directly from the winding-arbor to the indicator-shaft, which train, arbor, and indica tor-shaft turn one way when the watch is being wound and the opposite way when the watch is running; but in watches in which the winding-arbor after the watch has been wound remains stationary, while the ordinary train of the watch is driven from the mainspring-barrel, it has been diflicult to employ a winding-indicator. It is not easy in such watches to design mechanism which will move the indicator when the watch is running to indicate the extent to which the spring is unwound and which will bring the indicator back to Zero when the watch is being wound.

It has been attempted to apply winding-indicators to watches provided with going or safety barrels in several ways. Most of the mechanisms for this purpose have included in the train of gearing either a yielding or friction element which slips when the watch is being wound or said train included means whereby it could be connected to and disengaged from the arbor and barrel. In the last form of mechanism the train of gearing is necessarily complicated, and with either form of gearing there is always liability that the parts will not come back accurately to the original position-that is, either by a slip in the friction element or by the teeth of the disengageable gearing not always coming into correct mesh. As a result it is not certain in winding the watch that the indicator will be brought back to Zero. Other attempts to apply winding-indicators to watches provided with a safety or going barrel have resulted in complicated trains of gearing, and generally a pair of trains have been found necessary, one operating during winding and the other while running.

The object of my invention is to provide a winding-indicator for watches or clocks provided especially with a safety-barrel and in which a simple train of gearing is employed and so arranged that it will insure the indicator being brought back exactly to zero when the watch or clock is wound.

To these ends my invention consists, generally stated, in providing a single train of gearing between the safety-barrel and arbor on one hand and the indicator on the other, which train is positive and non-yielding, is constantly in mesh and never disengaged, and which will insure the indicator being moved through the same distance when winding as when running.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a face view of a watch, showing a winding-indicator. Fig. 2 is a face view of a watch with the dial and parts of the plate broken away. Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3 3, 2; and Fig. 4 is a sectional view showing a modification, the section being taken on a plane corresponding to line 4: 4, Fig. 2.

In the drawings, 1 indicates the dial of the watch; 2, the bottom plate thereof; 3, the mainspring, which is inclosed in the barrel 4 and secured at its outer end to said barrel and at its inner end to the arbor 5. The drawings show what is known in the art as a safety' barrel, wherein the barrel portion 4:, which incloses the mainspring, is connected to the winding mechanism and rotates while the watch is being wound, and one head thereof is formed as a gear 6, which is secured to the arbor 5 and rotates while the watch is running. This gear 6 is provided on its periphery with teeth which engage with the IOO usual watch-train to drive the same in the ordinary way. Only a portion of such watchtrain is indicated on the drawings, and as it has the ordinary mode of operation and has no bearing on the invention claimed it will not be described.

The barrel 4 will be connected to the winding mechanism in any suitable way and is shown as having secured thereto the ordinary ratchet-wheel 7, which will be connected to the winding-stem 8 by the usual or any preferred mechanism, such as the intermediate gear 8. This mechanism also is well known in the art and description is not necessary.

The dial 1 is provided on its face with a small dial 10, which is marked with suitable designationsas, for instance, from zero (0) to 24and with the words Wind up and over which travels the indicatorhand 11. This dial may be located in any position on the main dial 1. In Fig. 1 it is shown as located opposite the seconds-dial,

while in the modification shown in Fig. 4 it isdesigned to be located concentric with the minute and hour hands.

Meshing with the head 6 of the safety-barrel is a gear 16, fast on an arbor 17, journaled in the plates of the watch-movement. This arbor also has fixed thereon a pinion 18. Loosely mounted on the arbor 17 is a gear 19, which is connected to rotate with the barrel 4 either by meshing directly with gear-teeth formed thereon or being connected thereto by an intermediate pinion or pinions 20. The gear 19 carries a stud 21, on which are journaled the planetary gears 22 and 23, which are either integral or connected to each other, so as to rotate as a single gear. The gear meshes with the pinion 18, which is fast on the arbor 17, while the gear 23 engages a gear 24, also loosely mounted on the arbor 17. Secured to or formed integral with the gear 24 is a larger gear 25, which meshes with a gear 26, secured to an arbor 27. The latter at its outer end carries a pinion 28, which meshes with a gear 29, fast on an arbor 30, which carries the indicator-hand 11.

In Fig.4I have shown a modification, which is the preferred way, in which the arbor 17 is hollow, and passing through the same is the arbor 27 which carries the gear 26, which meshes directly with the planetary gear 23. In this way the intermediate gears 24 and 25 of Fig. 3 are omitted. The arbor 27 carries at its upper end the small pinion 28, which meshes with the gear 29 on the indicator-arbor. In this case also the arbor 30 is made hollow and is designed to surround the arbors 31 and 32 of the minute and hour hands.

The operation is as follows: We will assume that the watch is run down and that it is to be wound up. In this condition the indicatorhand 11 will be pointing toward the words,

Wind up on the small dial 10. In winding the watch the arbor 5 and barrel-head 6 head 6. This carries the stud 21, with the planetary gears 22 and 23, around the stationary pinion 18, thus imparting rotary movement to said planetary gears. This rotary movement is communicated, through the in-' termediate gears 24, 25, and 26, arbor 27, and gears 28 and 29, to the indicator-arbor 30, thus turning the indicator-hand back to Zero position. The number and sizes of the various gears and pinions are so arranged and proportioned that the indicator-hand will reach the zero-point on the dial 10 when the mainspring is fully Wound up.

When the watch is running, the barrel 4 becomes the relatively stationary part, while the arbor 5 and barrel-head 6 are the rotary part. ing the planetary gears 22 and 23, becomes stationary, while the pinion 18 will be rotated from the barrel-head 6. As a result the planetary gears 22 and 23 will be rotated slowly on the stud 21, but will have no motion or revolution around the pinion 18, and the rotation of these planetary gears, through the intermediate gears 24, 25, and 26, arbor 27 and gears 28 and 29, will turn the indicatorhand slowly in the opposite direction from that given thereto when the watch is being wound. As a consequence the indicator-hand 11 will be moved slowly over the dial 10 from zero 0 to 24, and if the watch is not then wound up it will move over the words Wind up, when it will indicate to the observer that the watch must be wound. By means of this indicator, therefore, it is possible at all times to determine to what extent the mainspring is still wound up and at what time the watch must again be wound. The train of gearing described is never disconnected; neitherdoes it embody any yielding or slip element, so that the movement of the indicator is always positive and accurate and the indicator will always travel through exactly the same distance when the watch is running that it does while the watch is being wound.

The mechanism shown in Fig. 4 operates exactly the same as that shown in Fig. 3, the only difierence being that the location of the arbor 27 in the hollow arbor 17 permits the intermediate gears 24 and 25 to be omitted, the gear 26 meshing directly with the planetary gear. This mechanism is very compact, adding but a single arbor to that found in the usual watch mechanism. 7

My invention may be applied to any springdriven mechanism, as well as to watches and clocks.

As a consequence the gear 19, carry- W'hat I claim is 1. In a watch or the like, the combination with a mainspring, of a barrel and an arbor connected to the opposite ends thereof, a winding-train connected to one of said parts, an indicator to show the condition of the mainspring, a pinion connected to rotate with the arbor, a gear driven from the barrel, the gearing connecting the arbor and pinion and the barrel and gear being non-yielding and being separate from and including no part of the winding-train, and gearing connecting said pinion and gear with said indicator, whereby the rotation of the arbor moves the indicator away from zero and the rotation of the barrel sets the indicator at Zero.

2. In a watch or the like, the combination with a mainspring, and a barrel and an arbor connected to the opposite ends thereof, of mechanism for rotating one of the said parts to wind the mainspring, the other part being rotatable when the watch is running, a pinion driven with the last-named part, a gear concentric with said pinion and driven from the winding mechanism, planetary gearing carried by said last-named gear and engaging said pinion, an indicator to show the condition of the mainspring, and gearing connecting said planetary gearing with the indicator.

3. In a watch or the like, the combination with the mainspring, and a barrel and an arbor connected to the opposite ends thereof, of an indicator to show the condition of the mainspring, mechanism for turning the barrel to wind the mainspring, the arbor rotating when the watch is running, a pinion connected to rotate with the arbor, a gear driven from the barrel and concentric with said pinion, planetary gears carried by said gear and engaging said pinion, and gearing connecting said planetary gears with the indicator.

i. In a watch or the like, the combination with the mainspring, of a barrel and an arbor connected to the opposite ends thereof, a winding-train connected to the barrel to wind the mainspring, the arbor and barrel-head rotating while the watch is running, a pinion and a gear, one driven from the barrel and the other from the barrel-head by connectinggearing separate from and not including any part of the winding-train, an indicator to show the condition of the mainspring, and gearing connecting said pinion and gear with the indicator.

5. In a watch or the like, the combination with the mainspring, of a barrel and an arbor connected to the opposite ends thereof, a winding-train connected to the barrel to wind the mainspring, a barrel-head connected to the arbor and rotating while the watch is running, a pinion, a gear concentric therewith, the one driven from the barrel and the other from the barrel-head by connecting gearing separate from and not including any part of the winding-train, planetary gears carried by said gear and meshing with said pinion, an indicator to show the condition of the mainspring, and gearing connecting said planetary gears with the indicator.

6. In a watch or the like, the combination with the mainspring, and a barrel and an arbor connected to the opposite ends thereof, of an indicator to show the condition of the mainspring, mechanism for rotating said bar rel to wind the watch, a barrel-head connected to the arbor and rotating when the watch is running, a pinion driven from said barrelhead, a gear driven from the barrel and mounted concentric with said pinion,planetary gears carried by said gear and engaging said pinion, and gearing connecting said planetary gears with the indicator.

7. In a watch or the like, the combination with the mainspring, and a barrel and an arbor connected to the opposite ends thereof, a gear and a pinion mounted on a hollow arbor, one fast thereon and the other loose thereon and being connected the one to the barrel and the other to the arbor, planetary gears carried by said gear and meshing with said pinion, an arbor extending through said hollow arbor, a gear on said last-named arbor and engaging the planetary gears, and an indicator operated from said last-named arbor.

8. In a watch or the like, the combination with the mainspring, of a barrel and arbor connected to the opposite ends thereof, mechanism for turning the barrel to wind the mainspring, the arbor rotating while the watch is running, gear-teeth on the barrel, and a train of gearing driven from said gear-teeth.

9. In a watch or the like, the combination with the mainspring, of a barrel and an arbor connected to the opposite ends thereof, of mechanism for turning the barrel to wind the mainspring, the arbor rotating while the watch is running, gear-teeth on the barrel, an indicator to show the condition of the main spring, and gearing connecting the indicator with the gear-teeth on the barrel, whereby said indicator is turned back to zero when the watch is being wound.

10. In a watch or the like, the combination with the mainspring, of a barrel and an arbor connected to the opposite ends thereof, mechanism for turning the barrel to wind the mainspring, the arbor rotating while the watch is running, gear-teeth on said barrel, an indicator to show the condition of the mainspring, gearing connecting said indicator with the arbor, and gearing connecting said indicator with the gear-teeth on said barrel.

In testimony whereof I, the said Joscrn MAZER, have hereunto set my hand.

. JOSEPH MAZER.

*itnesses:

P. D. CHAsTAiN, ALBERT W. Jones. 

